IN a sombre courtroom, murdered Chikonda Banda’s grandmother narrated how she wept after seeing the body of her 10-year-old grandson dumped in a maize field.
Alice Banda, an actress, testified that she also identified her dead grandson through his clothes, like the blue boxer she bought for the child whose mother was on hunger strike at the time.
This is in a case Nalukui Akafekwa, 24, of Garden Township is accused of abducting and killing Chikondi of Emmasdale on March 17, 2023 before his body was discovered in a maize field.
Akafekwa denied the charge before Lusaka High Court Judge Mwape Bowa.
Yesterday, Ms Banda narrated that during the material time, she received a call from her son informing her Chikondi went missing.
“The kids [later] told me ‘Grandma we have seen Chikondi’s bag in an unused toilet’. There were two doors.They took me behind the house where there were unused toilets,” she said.
Ms Banda said the door was locked with a wire but partially closed “and you could see inside”.
“When I peeped, I saw a charcoal grey laptop bag hanging on the wall. I was sure it belonged to him because am the one who bought it”.
Ms Banda said she phoned police officers so that they could go and retrieve the bags.
“The police retrieved the bags and when they checked, they found a blue shirt which is part of Chikondi’s uniform and hard cover books,” she said.
Ms Banda said on March 23 this year while preparing to go for prayers, she heard people saying that a body had been discovered behind Emmerdale Police Station.
“By then, Chikondi’s mother was not in the right state of mind, she was on a hunger strike so I left her home alone.
“I walked towards a crowd that was gathered near the maize field. I couldn’t recognize his face because it had ballooned and seemingly looked like he was burnt”.
Ms Banda ripped the dead boy’s trousers and identified the light blue boxer she bought for him.
She said she later broke down.
(Mwebantu, Friday, 27th October, 2023)